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Operation: Jasper
Nevada A land of rugged, snow-capped peaks, dry desert valleys, and huge, sparsely populated expanses, Nevada, the Silver State, still has the aura of the Old West. Blessed with widespread mineral resources, it is the nation's leading producer of gold, silver, and mercury, but its main claim to fame comes from, of course, gambling. That, entertainment, and skiing make it a popular destination for tourists not only from the bordering states but from around the world. Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe are the best known tourist traps. Less well known features are the large, discreet military facilities and testing grounds in the least-populated areas of the state. LAST TIME ON.. THE TRANSFORMERS! Rodimus Prime had given Red Alert one mission directive above all others: Find out who Silas is. This of course went with finding out anything about his secret organization, MECH. And so, the paranoid Security Director went about doing just that. The trail led him to New York City, specifically the Yahoo! Inc offices. He'd tracked a large amount of encrypted emails being sent from a burner phone. Once there, they were given cartloads of shredded documents to sift through. Apparently the CEO wasn't the biggest fan of Cybertronians. Just when Repugnus had discovered what they came looking for, the room caught on fire! Following the trail to Nevada, Red Alert 'asked' for control of Perceptor's cam-drone network to blanket the city of Jasper in high elevation recon. Just what awaits them in this small quaint town? *The symbol revolves around, to signify the episode has begun!! * TEN MINUTES AGO.. "Alright, we're going to keep this clandestine as possible. Altmodes only, you either ask an EDC soldier.." Red Alert points to the rag tag squad dressed in civilian clothes, "To ride along or activate holo-drivers. Fliers.." he looks at Jetfire, Ranger, and Slingshot. "Cover us from the air and makesure that drone network is still in place." "Mute, Amber.. you're with me in the lead car. Alright team, let's get to work!" NOW.. The Fire Department Countach, which is in NO WAY suspicious at all, rolls along the main street and into Jasper. While quaint and small, there doesn't seem to be much activity in the streets or anywhere really. Small groups of people mingle here and there, however. <> Red Alert transmits to the others. EIGHT AND A HALF MINUTES AGO.. Red Alert totally said "Transform and roll out!" <> Slingshot dips a wing lazily, drifting right. "Jetfire, Ranger! Congrats on being assigned to Skywatch with me, lil' Bots! Ya'll might learn a thing or three." Yes, he has named their portion of the Op 'Skywatch.' No, Slingshot can't do anything not epic enough to have it's own name. Repugnus past-salutes Red Alert as he gives a terrible order--at least, to him. "Altmodes only? Roger that!" And then he's hustled off before Red Alert can correct him. Well, it'll probably be fine. SOMEWHAT INTO THE FUTURE A moderately obese man is walking down an alleyway, talking on a cellphone. "Yes, of course, I understand..." There's a skritch in the alley behind him. The man straightens, turns around... and drops the phone in complete and utter terror at what he sees! Slingshot says, "Air Raid, where you at, bot? Don't tell me you didn't get selected for Operation Skywatch? Red Alert picked me first, so I didn't see who all was included after I scrambled for Nevada." This isn't the first time Amber's driven a Countach; Sideswipe is a friend of hers. Niiiiiiice ride. "You do realize that your altmode stands out like a sore thumb, sir? And if I may suggest something to follow up on, find Yahoo's offsite storage location and seize their backups. I think they were trying to delay us with the damned paper." She sighs as she glances back at their cavalcade. "Robots in disguise don't work so well these days," she mutters to herself. Air Raid says, "...Operation Skywatch!?" Air Raid says, "Slaggit I'll watch ALL the skies!!" Autobot Shuttle soars upwards, curving around and looming over Slingshot, casting the Aerialbot into shadow. <> Wishing he was in Red Alerts stereo system, Mute has to settle for the passenger seat (well if you were Red would you trust Mute to play the music). He waits for now till they reach their destination. Red Alert has encrypted this channel. Someone must be following Red Alert.. suspiciously, because he folds down into his Lambourghini Countach Fire Department vehicle looking to book it!! Red Alert says, "You half blown diodes!" Pink Techcar idly enters Jasper a bit after Red Alert with her passengers. <> Her comm changes over to internal for her passengers, <> A vocalizer screen totally stolen from Knight Rider emphasises her words. Back on the Autobot bandwidth, <> She adds after a moment, <> The techcar stops at a red light. During the timeframe, a man with a squeegee and bottle approaches the car. He gestures for a windshield wipe, as he holds a can for spare change. Her lights flicker as he starts spraying down the windshield, <> With a honk, she drives forward an inch then pulls onto the next road. Red Alert says, "Slingshot, take that to the 'Investigation Inc' channel created for this mission. Air Raid, where are you?" Air Raid says, "Comin'!" Apocryphacius is hiding underneath Elita One's holographic driver, because being inside Elita One's trunk would be terrifying. Also, touching a lady's spare tyre would be rude! He replies quietly, "A bit... claustrophobic? But fine. Really." He's trying to convince himself. Talia McKinley says, "G'luck out there bots" Elita One says, "Good work, I enjoy knowing we have a more secure line out here. Especially with MECH about, there's no telling what they may hear." Jetfire circles the perimeter of the town, keeping himself just above the cloud cover as he scans the area below. "Thank you, Slingshot..." he mutters, doing his best to ignore the Aerialbot's blatantly loud-mouthed bragging. He resists the urge to remind Slingshot that he is in fact a lot smaller than him, in all actuality. Therefore calling the scientist 'small' wasn't quite accurate. <> he asks on the commlink, echoing Amber's concerns as he checks Perceptor's surveillance network to insure it is functioning at optimal capacity. <> he also reports. Slingshot says, "My bad, Big Red." <> Red Alert beeps to the cockiest Aerialbot, though when you're teamed with a bunch of losers.. <> he speaks to Amber, the sound internalized and coming in through the speakers. <> he defends himself. Pulling up to the same stop Elita One did, Red Alert studies the bum wielding the newspaper. He panics! Red Alert says, "Elita, FULL ALERT!" Velum isn't a huge fan of pink, but she can't really complain while taking a spin in Elita's passenger seat while Apoc takes the driver. How does he even fit in here..? "No surprise Silas would have something way out here. Nothing for miles around this little town, perfect for hiding." The woman muses while resting an elbow against the window, keeping keen observation of the streets. "Really wish I could've brought my exo." Chatter over the radio draws her attention however, the Neb rolling her eyes, <> Red Alert says, "You have a possible threat wielding a newspaper in your vicinity!!" Elita One says, "*alarmed* What is it?" Elita One says, "Oh, yes, I saw him and made a tactical deterrent move. I suggest not provoking him further..." Slingshot says, "You want me to blast him? I can hit that sucker from here, easy." Red Alert says, "Good decision, you all could take a page out of Elita's playbook on that disaster. Nono Slingshot, he could be a bomb in disguise." Red Alert says, "It'd blow our cover." F-15E Strike Eagle zooms in from the west to join the small flock, trying to stay in some kind of formation. Thoough he steadily drifts out of it, absently flying on his side. Ranger says, "Besides, stealth." Air Raid says, "Huh! Blast who?" Repugnus says, "No, no, Slingshot, I'm the only one allowed to kill humans." Repugnus says, "...haha, just kidding!" Pink Techcar muffles a laugh as she drives on, <> Her driver's side window rolls down a bit, <> Her bemused laugh continues for a moment, <> Amber MacKenzie says, "Might our eyes in the skies please keep watch for MECH's sensor/scanning equipment or any readings of large amounts of metal in the area?" The bum, apparently defeated by Elita's reluctance, skulks away, head lowered. A few steps away and he coughs something into his wrist. Well, bums aren't typically known for being healthy. It seems almost odd, though, that there'd even be a bum in this town, especially with how few people are living in it. The streets are virtually barren of people. There are stores and shops, here, but many of them are merely staffed by single employees with no customers in sight. A lot of shops might not even have that, as they have tinted windows and seeing what's going on inside is difficult. The bum whispers “Code Steve.” Into his wrist. Elita One says, "the roads sure are open here." As he gets driven around in comfort (they don't know how to make car seats like they used to... back on Cybertron), Mute scans local wifi, or at least scans form it. Ranger says, "We're watching, when not distracted by suspicious newspaper readers." <> Red Alert transmits to Elita One, turning on his blinker to take a left turn down the sidestreet. <> <> he advises the cassette, taking the turn smoothly and at an even speed. Well, he would have if the bum hadn't whispered something into his wrist. A bum talking to himself? Of not much importance. Whispering 'Code Steve' into his palm? Suspicious as all hell, doubly so for the already paranoid Red Alert. He guns it down the street as non-suspicious as possible, pulling into a parking lot. Red Alert says, "ATTENTION ALL FIELD OPERATIVES: We are condition beta, treat local populace as possible hostiles and continue surveillance!" Repugnus says, "Way ahead of you!" Repugnus says, "...haha, just kidding!" Air Raid says, "...Hostiles!" Elita One says, "easy, let's not blow cover on this" Red Alert says, "Amber, I'm going to deploy you for foot recon. Are you ready?" Apocryphacius comments, on the coughing bum, who is now in the distance, "The health care system does leave something to be desired, still..." To Velum, he suggests, "You should build a tiny exo that you can fold up in a suitcase." Apparently, he wants Velum to be Tony Stark. Amber MacKenzie peers around and frowns. "It's like a ghost town here." She doesn't like the tinted windows, either. Reminds her of the laws about tinted glass in cars. Then again, it could just be because of the summer sun, which is particularly nasty in Nevada. Red's explanation of his disguise warrants rolling of eyes. "How many Countachs are on the road these days compared to the rest of the cars? I know that *I* would stop and stare at a Countach if one drove by." She sighs and shakes her head. "Yes, I'm ready." AV-8B Harrier II dips a wing to greet his Aerialbot comelately brother. "Glad you could join us! Don't worry, Raid- I'll handle things if Blitzwing shows up. I'll be like 'ohh snap, suck on deez rocketzzzzzz-" And then Red Alert's warning transmission comes in. "Or if no Blitzwing, I guess if we get attacked by homeless people. Either/or, Slingshot's gonna be teaching master classes in 'how to take a beating from Slingshot!" As he transforms, Mute activates his own holograms to cover himself in the form of a human. Settling into the front seat, the rather non-descript human looks to Amber briefly with a smile before turning to look out the window, keeping an eye on the streets as Red Alert drives into the parking lot. Unfolding and growing significantly, the tape transforms into Mutes robot mode. "Mmh.." That's all the reply Elita and Apoc get from Velum, though she does hear that tiny suit idea which is pretty great, a bit too distracted watching the bum move off and returning attention to the town itself. It's not right, too ghostly even for a podunk town like this. Already she's thumbing at her knee in anticipation, getting that tingle you feel when something's amiss. <> Maybe his paranoia is starting to rub off, but she's sure something's up. Every block appears to have a couple wifi signals emanating from it. One might think it's more wireless activity than is justified by the paltry number of people here. There's also occasional radio traffic of a different kind, but it just seems to be gibberish. The parking lot Red Alert pulls into is nearly empty of cars, despite its considerable capacity. One car, on the other end of the lot, pops open, and an extremely tall man steps out and stares at Red Alert. And stares. And stares. And stares. A beat-up old truck drives past the lot. Slowly. Very slowly. The wind blows softly, as if whispering. MEANWHILE The man in the alleyway, the man who SAW SOMETHING, runs out of that alley, panting, almost hyperventilating, and turns to see if whatever it was is still following him. "It... it's gone!" he remarks. He really needs to make a call... oh, damn, he dropped his cellphone. Well, now he just needs to drive to the guy he needs to talk to! He gets into his SUV and starts it up. "Close..." Autobot Shuttle gians height, running his sensors across the terrain beneath. <> Both doors pop open, allowing the passengers inside Red Alert to depart. <> he announces, sending out a jamming signal. <> he adds, pulling back and parking in a stall. Facing what appears to be a deli, Red Alert takes care to explain his action as well. <> Notice of the man stepping out of the vehicle doesn't deter Red Alert at the moment, but he is noticed. He switches all chatter to the secured mission channel. F-15E Strike Eagle hisses, "Shut yer face before you crash it into a mountain!" He accelerates to try and throw Slingshot off balance... but then thinks better of it. Red Alert is tense enough as it is. With a loud, needless sigh, he hangs back and coasts lazily, optical sensors directed skyward as he pings for anything out of the ordinary. Red Alert says, "Amber, Mute.. just keep your cool and get some intel. Velum, that is a loaded question. I find everything a little -too- convenient." After giving Mute a smile in return, Amber deploys. Stepping gracefully out of the sportscar, she takes a quick look around, and not just at the suspiciously staring character. Her clothing is nondescript and doesn't stand out. Moving slowly, almost causually, she takes advantage of the few cars available and slips among them. Amber MacKenzie says, "Right. There's not a lot of cover, but I'll do my best to get in closer." Elita One says, "I agree. Alright then, why don't we test this theory a bit further?" MEANWHILE.. Up in the air, upon checking out the drone network, the flier squad would find one in particular acting.. strange. It flies out of pattern with the others, instead zipping on some other course. Red Alert says, "Velum, Apoc.. you have freedom of movement for the next fifteen minutes. If you plan on getting some personal Intel, I advise you be quick about it." Velum says, "Amber, you gonna be alright with Mute there, or do you want me along too? Otherwise I'm staying in Elita. Gives me an excuse to unholster my gun." Getting out of the car as requested, the holo-generated human around Mute pulls out a pair of shades and puts them on. As he walks around Red Alert to accompany Amber in her slipping through cars, Mute continues scanning the nearby WiFi signals, sorting through them and looking for any data. Not simply relevant data, simply any data. Google may accidentally pick up personal info when scanning streets, Mute pretty much collects that sort of stuff as a hobby. Elita One says, "My holodisguise doesn't work out of mode, unless you're able to make it more portable, Apocryphicus." Red Alert says, "Velum, get on the correct channel!" Velum says, "Ergh.." "Slingshot...Air Raid, calm yourselves." Jetfire quips as the Aerialbots start to banter. "Remain focused." The scientist then busies himself scanning the airwaves. He picks up on the wireless signals, as well as the radio chatter that appears to be gibberish. "Hmm..." He runs the shortwave signals through some of his decryption algorithms to see if he can't discern what is being said, if anything at all. He also detects the malfunctioning drone, and alerts Red. <> he reports. <> Velum says, "Er, scratch that on the main channel, same question applies here." Red Alert says, "I'll check in to see what the field report reads, move in to investigate the drone from up in the air Jetfire!" Slingshot says, "For serious, if ya'll want some actua progress made, let me down there! I've got the PIMPEST espionage skills, ya'll. For reals." Pink Techcar pulls down a side street, and then into an alley. <> Amber MacKenzie says, "Eh, I don't know. Are you lot capable of sneaking well? Otherwise, you're going to be spotted by our suspect." "Tch..." Air Raid is all too glad to have the twitchy drone to focus on, promptly darting after it. <> he asks eagerly. Air Raid says, "He sucks at everything." Apocryphacius attempts to remove Elita One's hologram generator to make it portable! However, as he tinkers with hooking it up to some weird crystals, it malfunctions and disguises Apocryphacius as Al Roker! Oh no, he hopes no one asks him to predict the weather. That would be awkward. Amber MacKenzie takes advantage of the coming dusk to edge closer to the staring man. She doesn't just watch him, either; she keeps an eye on the buildings and windows around them, the cars and their contents, and any passers-by. Cover offered by the cars is lessening, though, and that increases the chance that she might be spotted. She slows even more, freezing if the man glances in her direction. <> Red Alert transmits to the femme commander, his doors closing and sealing. His attention is currently on reviewing the drone history files and the dude still staring at him in the parking lot. <> he adds, sifting through the drone files. Red Alert says, "You are -NOT- to attack. Jetfire, transform and use Ranger as a platform to move in with your hands. I need physical intel on the drone!" Air Raid says, "Damn." An eagle begins to follow the Aerialbots. An eagle that does not flap its wings, and never blinks. The tall man doesn't glance at Amber, seemingly oblivious. After a while, the disturbingly tall man stops staring at Red Alert, climbs back into his car, and just sits there. He doesn't start the engine--he doesn't even turn on the air conditioning or fans. He just sits there, in a hot, hot car. The slow truck continues to drive slowly. Meanwhile, the man who dropped his phone in the alley sits in his SUV, about to start it... when it starts on its own. He's confused at first, then tries to shift gears. He can't. He tries to leave the SUV. Doors locked, can't be unlocked. Then he notices an odd smell in the cabin, coughing. He doesn't realize there's a potato in his car's exhaust. Just before he succumbs, he looks up, gasping as he sees that horrible face again--the last thing he ever sees. Repugnus says, "Tango down!" Repugnus says, "...just kidding!" Red Alert says, “…” Autobot Shuttle weaves back and forth on a serch pattern as he contemplates the erratic drone. <> He breaks off at Red Alert's latest transmission. So, now he's a airborne surfboard? <> Slingshot breaks left, circling around the eagle for a better look. <> The Aerialbot starts to sing to himself, R&B style. <> Elita One says, "Americon? Where?" F-15E Strike Eagle eases up when he's told he can't shoot anything. Slingshot directs his attention to the Americon bird. <<...Yeah, that's a /really great bird/, Slingshot,>> he deadpans. <<...Hang on, not flapping?>> He slows further to try and get near it. Apocryphacius says, "Try to distract him with PBR." AV-8B Harrier II inverts, kicking in his VTOL systems to hover upside down over the eagle. <> Air Raid says, "Mech cut it out, this is serious!" Amber MacKenzie edges closer, probably too close. After all, the guy could actually be watching her without appearing to do so, but... Hmmmm. Now that's odd. For the moment, all her attention is on the man, and she stares at him with narrowed eyes from his blind spot. Elita One says, "well there are two types of birds, Accipiter and Budio, Accipiters are the 'thrifty' birds and tend not to flap their wings. Vultures are a prime example and sweet Primus I've listened to Hound talk a bit too long..." Amber MacKenzie says, "Folks, I don't think this guy is human. He's not sweating. Can anyone do scans? Bloody hell, maybe they're doing the Stepford Wives here." The bird doesn't reply to Slingshot. It doesn't turn its head towards him. Then suddenly, it banks abruptly to the side and... it's gone!? Combat: Repugnus strikes AV-8B Harrier II with his BIRD IS THE WORD (Grab) attack! Pink Techcar pulls back out into traffic, well the streets anyway. <> With Velum perhaps volunteering to take over as driver since she needs one to at least pretend to be legal, not that she's not been made of course. Pink supercar, hello! She starts to cruise the streets, mapping out the layout discreetly. The intent: Note where cars on the road are coming from and going without tailing them. To do so, she performs her own loop, tracking multiple cars, and working in concert with whatever eyes in the sky are available. Surveillance is a tough job, but it is so much easier with a team... Receiving the request for scanning, Red Alert scans the area around him.. which is also the hot car with the strange dude inside of it. <> Combat: Fire Department Lambourghini Countach initiates a radar sweep of the area. Combat: Hidden Door has been found! Red Alert says, "Jetfire? Blast. Air Raid, looks like it's up to you. Get me physical intel on that drone, the report said it succumbed to attack at zero five hundred terran time and stopped relaying intel." <> Slingshot rolls onto his belly and falls back into formation as Raid's wing. <> Air Raid says, "Uh, okay!" Amber MacKenzie says, "This kind of work is slow and stealthy, I'm afraid. Unless something else comes up, then yes, I'll be leaving in ten." Slingshot says, "You've got this, Baby Wheels. I believe in you." Elita One says, "What happened?" Air Raid says, "ARGH shut the frag up!" Elita One says, "Excuse me?" F-15E Strike Eagle tilts slightly. <> He darts above Ranger and hovers there. <> Red Alert says, "Aerialbot rivalry, Elita. Anything on the traffic trends?" Air Raid says, "Sorry Elita." The tall man does not move as Amber approaches, does not turn his head. Hrm, did his ear twitch, though? Probably just the heat screwing with you. Meanwhile, if you look closely, you can see the bird alright... it's on Slingshot! And it is decidedly NOT behaving like a bird right now, currently clinging to Slingshot's hull just behind his canopy. Its mouth is open, and something glinty seems to be protruding out of its beak. Is it going to stick something into Slingshot!? 'Al Roker' is dropped off, hopefully on a sidewalk. This is a weird experience for Apocryphacius, being able to wander around and not look like a total freak. He tries to find someone he can talk to, in a normal human fashion... The holo-form human that's been trailing Amber, pauses while he awaits a reply from Red. Though the fact the 'human' loks around, darting it's gaze back to the strange non-sweaty human while monitoring for anyone approaching Amber, it's evident there's some concern. On receiving the radio, Mute doesn't hesitate, nor does he remain that subtle. While his hologram remains on, anyone really good can see the edges pixelate as Mute vaults over the care between him and Amber, landing he moves fast to place himself between her and the non-sweating human. Amber MacKenzie makes note of the license plate, for thoroughness' sake. Though frequently - but slowly - glancing back at the still man, she goes back to checking out the surroundings. After all, quick movements attract the eye, and she definitely doesn't want to attract this... whatever's attention. She rests one knee on the unpleasantly hot pavement to steady herself. Good thing she's not wearing a dress today. Autobot Shuttle spins on his axis, so he's flying upside down, and opens his lower hatch, ready to receive the drone. Aside from that, he maintains a steady flight. And has room to be stood upon. The drone reacts in kind, attempting to zip away down towards the town! Air Raid folds and compacts into his robot mode. Combat: Air Raid compares his Agility to 65: Success! Elita One says, "negative, Red. It looks like they're on a loop of some sort. I'll stay on it, just have to stay discreet about it. How about a bit less ...Aerialbot rivalry, and a bit more eyes on the road, I can't do this alone." Air Raid transforms, drops and balances on the shuttle's underside. He manages to swipe the drone out of the air before it can get too far. "YEAH! You think you're so hot, drone!" He tries to slamdunk it into poor Ranger's hatch. The tall man's reaction to Mute's acrobatics is to do NOTHING. Al Roker, in the meantime, comes up on a woman in her thirties sitting at a bus stop, clad in a business suit with a skirt. She's wearing sunglasses and doesn't seem to be paying much attention to anything. Pink Techcar obeys her traffic laws, even on the highway. She instinctively moves over into the far lane, the fast lane. For a moment, the urge to open up the throttle kicks in. However, catching a large moving van in her rearview mirror, she reigns in the moment. <> She pauses, <> Elita One changes lanes, then slows to get behind the larger van. The question had to be answered, were these vehicles gas powered, and therefore have exhaust, or were even the vehicles themselves powered some other way... 'Al Roker' says to the woman, "This weather we are having. It sure is weather. Is it not? Definitely not... ice cream or... dish detergent? Definitely weather." Air Raid says, "The mother bird is in the basket! ...The goose is in the horn!" Air Raid says, "The nest is in the..." Air Raid says, "I got the drone." AV-8B Harrier II flies over Raid and Ranger, attempting to mask how impressed he is with Raid's manuevering. <> The Aerialbot jerks right suddenly. <> Autobot Shuttle winces as the drone bounces off his hull, but manages to seal his hatch before it can bounce back out. <> Apocryphacius says, "Help, how do normal humans converse?" Elita One says, "Ahh...." Slingshot says, "OW OW OW OW OW OW OW" Air Raid says, "What!?" Elita One says, "be slightly inquisitive but without exploring personal boundaries, I suppose is the easiest way to put it?" Something squeeks into the channel, like random radio noise. Or is it more?... Ranger says, "We're supposed to study this thing, not break it on each other." Apocryphacius says, "So I should not inquire if she feels it is morally acceptable to sneak up on and execute a school shooter to prevent him from slaughtering another classroom full of children?" Elita One says, "ugh, sounds like its trying to communicate, it needs jammed immediately." Air Raid says, "Where's Mute?" Red Alert says, “Overseeing Amber Mackenzie, why?” Air Raid says, "Slingshot, want me to shoot the bird??" Elita One says, "What? No, no don't ask that. It'd alarm the person...just hold on a moment. Talk about...traffic, I don't know." Elita One says, "Repugnus says that has another meaning on Earth" Ranger says, "The weather, sports, youth today." Air Raid hops off Ranger to dive with a few graceful flips before twisting back into a jet. < Air Raid shifts and twists into his black F-15E Strike Eagle mode. Combat: F-15E Strike Eagle compares his Accuracy to 65: Success! Apocryphacius says, "So I should discuss... a bus full of teenage football players crashing into a semi-truck during a thunderstorm?" Amber MacKenzie says, "Ask her if she's lived here long. Ask her about any local tourist attractions. Ask her about good restaurants." The vehicles do indeed have exhaust. It's what killed a man recently, after all! The only issue is that there aren't many other vehicles on the road, so Elita's attempt to tail it does not go unnoticed. The van begins to loop around a block, as if it to test Elita... or maybe he's just lost, who knows? The woman turns towards Al Roker, saying nothing for a moment, then finally: "You must be new to this town. Who are you?" Her tone is not friendly. Slingshot says, "Scrap, is it the bird?! Damn bird, I thought we were cool!" AV-8B Harrier II is doing his best to fly calmly, despite being in a decent amount of pain. <> "Al Roker' holds up his hands placatingly and replies, "Can you inform me as to the disposition of local restaurants? I am... ah... Apollo Cross?" BZZZT BZZZT! Sparks emanate from where the bird has stuck something from its mouth into Slingshot. BEEEP SQUEEEOOOOO Pink Techcar would mutter to herself if she had a mouth. She goes right on past the truck, <> She swerves, <> Elita One says, "Blast it, switching channels back to +a, what is happening out there?" <> says Air Raid, falling back into formation. <> Red Alert can't help but exclaim without giving any other explanations. <> he orders, transforming into robot mode. Giving the vehicle an odd glance, Red Alert signals for Ranger to touch down on the ground in the parking lot. "Let's have a look at this drone." Faster than you can say 'Richard Nixon', Red Alert flips up into his robot mode. Red Alert says, "Rescind order of alt-mode clandestine operations, I can only investigate so much as a vehicle. Amber, Mute, Apocryphacius.. continue with your endeavors. Elita One, keep at the traffic patterns with aerial assistance." SQUEE-- Elita One says, "roger that, Red Alert. I'm wishing I had active camo though, maybe I should hit one of those pay and sprays" "Apollo Cross," the woman repeats. She ignores Al Roker's questions, and stands up, smoothing out her skirt. "You are coming with me," she says, ignoring the disguised Quintesson's question. "Or else." She reaches into her purse... and places upon her head... A BLUE JAYS CAP! DUN DUN DUN Jetfire follows Ranger and lands in the parking lot to run diagnostics on the malfunctioning drone. "Its behavior did not appear to be synchronized with the rest of the unit, which is odd, since a 'disband' command was not issued." At least as far as he can tell... Autobot Shuttle flips back around, suspending the drone immobile with his artificial gravity systems, and speeds down to the parking lot Red Alert indicated. His landing thrusters kick up dust as he gently touches down. Opening his side hatch, he extends his boarding ramp. AV-8B Harrier II recovers flight stability as he shudders. <> F-15E Strike Eagle groans, "Wah wah, so ungrateful. I got all of it! I... Oh whoops, its head is still stuck on ya'. Heh, DEAL WITH IT." Raid would put on shades if he could. He merely barrel rolls off. Boarding Ranger, Red Alert afixes the drone with a glare before moving to a roughshod examination table. It's actually a seat, but beggars can't be choosers. "Jetfire, open 'er up and let's get started." he points to the scientist and the drone. "I want to get the personal flight camera out of there now." Pondering his clues, Red doesn't feel easy about this place at all. Not only was the man in the car strange, but he had TWO heartbeats. The fact the car was one hundred fifty degrees was even more strange. Though what might take the cake here, is the long-range scanner picking up some sort of shielded hidden entrance located in the town. Faint and needing further investigation, he makes a call for Elita One. <> Red Alert says, "Elita, I need you here pronto." Oh snap, Agent Blue Jays! 'Al Roker' reacts with very obvious fear to the Blue Jays cap, which is... really weird. He looks left and right. Oh no, not all this again! Never let them take you to a second location! But... but... they need to get to the bottom of this, and... 'Apollo Cross' says meekly, "...yes, of course." Pink Techcar registers, <> She takes the next exit as she moves to circle back towards the team. The pink techcar finds herself in a side street, crusing casually but with little wasted effort. A semi truck pulls in front of the intersection and stalls. She turns into an alley, all dark and mysterious. Agent Blue Jays gives 'Al Roker' a robotic smile as he turns compliant. "Excellent. You will come with me." Wait, wasn't Agent Blue Jays supposed to be in prison right now? Well, anyway, she reaches down to grab 'Al Roker' by an arm. Is she going to get a tentacle-y surprise? Not that kind. >:| Odd. Is the tall man staring at Red Alert again? Even though Red Alert is behind his car? And yet it seems like the tall man's head is facing directly towards Red Alert. Not like he's peering over his shoulder, but rather--as if he WAS facing towards him. Amber MacKenzie knows none of this, so she continues to closely watch the man and the area. However, her ten minutes are almost up... Wait, that's odd. She doesn't get it at first and just stares at him with a puzzled frown. Something's off. It is true 'Al Roker'/'Apollo Cross'/whoever has suspiciously tentacly arms! Stupid hologram, not being a fancy solid hologram. Amber MacKenzie says, "Er, did you ever get anything back on this guy? Is he human?" Red Alert says, "Meet me in Ranger's impromptu lab, I'll explain." On closer inspection, the Tall Man's head has turned 180 degrees on his shoulders. Agent Blue Jays lets go of the armtacle as soon as she touches it--who can blame her! She frowns, reaching into her jacket for a gun. "Cross's pet Quintesson!" Apocryphacius says, "...Agent Blue Jays has drawn a gun on me." Amber MacKenzie says, "Okay, he's not human. Where's this lab? And before you answer, Elita mentioned something about this frequency being compromised. Apocryphacius, are you nearby?" Red Alert says, "That is why I'm not revealing anything over the air. Parking lot, Amber." Autobot Shuttle , just, kinda sits there, straining his sensors for any incoming hostiles as people treat him as a laboratory. "Ranger, do you have any tools located in here? We should really mag-lock this drone down before we do anything with it." Red Alert asks, struggling to keep ahold of the drone. Apparently it has a mind and will of its own! Apocryphacius disables his 'Al Roker' disguise. Oh well, that was fun while it lasted. He confirms, "Oh yes, Agent Blue Jays. Me. The question is... do you think you can kill me or subdue me /before/ I can disable your suicide switch?" Apocryphacius pulls out a laser scalpel and a syringe full of sedatives and faces her down. Yes, his main concern is really that she might die before she can be taken into custody. Priorities? What are those? Apocryphacius transforms into his Death mode. Red Alert says, "For all intents and purposes, consider the mission channel compromised. However, feel free to use it for misdirection purposes." Repugnus says, "That's my favorite purpose! Whirl, have you been harassing Torque lately?" Apocryphacius says, "Yes, I will need a crate full of shaving cream." Agent Blue Jays thinks for a moment. Quintessons are notoriously fragile, but would even her 9mm pistol be sufficient to put him down before he subdues her. She keeps the gun leveled at him, thinking to herself. Well, she's using FMJ rounds... maybe if she puts one in each head... Amber MacKenzie, with the same slowness and care as she used approaching the man, eases away from his car towards another, then towards an apparently abandoned store next to the parking lot. Flattening herself against the building, she glides around empty garage cans and through the shadows towards the front of the lot. Hopefully, the guy will keep his eyes on Red Alert until she has some real cover. Death tries to close the distance and tries to grab Blue Jays's wrist firmly to direct her line of fire out and to the side. It's sort of his fault, isn't it? She /should/ be in jail. ...and well, there are worse ways to go out than gunshot. Combat: Death compares his Agility to 60: Failure :( Combat: Apocryphacius damages himself. Agent Blue Jays gasps as her arm is seized, and the gun goes off in her hand. Unfortunately, Apocryphacius wasn't fast enough to direct it away from him in time, and the bullet ricochets off of his dome, leaving a dent. SPANG! The Tall Man doesn't seem to look at Amber. However... he appears to be sinking into his chair. Like someone cut a hole in the car so he could drop out the bottom. Except there's not actually a hole. Autobot Shuttle muses upon the question. "Well, I have lifting cables, uh, outside. Internally I usually rely on gravitics. Like-" The drone crashes to the floor, denting slightly. "Ow. Just, be careful not to get caught in the grav-field." Red Alert fights against the artifical gravity, moving over towards the drone. Ah well, looks like he'll have to perform the neccesary mechanics. Maybe Jetfire can play his mad assistant Egorbot? Opening up the drone, he makes note of some scorch marks along the outside of the casing. Once inside, it looks like an ordinary drone. Looks, being the word. "Well, it appears fine from here. Let's pull up the records." he surmises, hooking up a line to his datapad. Combat: Red Alert compares his Technical to 75: Success! Death 's dome is dented, and he makes a squeaking nosie of pain. Stupid, stupid, stupid! His whole plan was stupid? Why does he even bother trying? He should just give up and... well, he does have sedatives in one tentacle. While he's at it, he tries to jab the syringe into Blue Jays. Should give him just enough time to find the suicide switch, he hopes... Amber MacKenzie reaches a safe distance and some decent cover, so she takes a few minutes to record the spooky doings of the Tall Man. He's melting! He's melting! Or something. She shivers, a bit unnerved by the weird goings on. Instead of high tech, she's thinking ghosts. Silly Amber. If he's finished doing tricks, she'll make her way over to Ranger and the rest of the ground crew. "Hlegh--" Blue Jays grunts out as the syringe is jammed into her neck. Her head slumps over almost immediately, and more importantly, the killswitch detects an involuntary unconscious state. Of course, sometimes there are false positives, so it starts a five second timer before it checks again.... to see if it needs to explode. Meanwhile, the tall man's car door opens, and something skitters off into an alley, almost too fast to see. Was that... him? Death does a quick check with the scanner and then goes in with the laser scalpel to try to remove the explosive! He's seen this before. Sort of. If she survives, he'll worry about antibiotics /later/. This was still a stupid plan. Combat: Death compares his Technical to 85: Failure :( Apparently he's not finished doing tricks... but Amber didn't catch a good look at what that was. Though maybe her camcorder did. She's not sure she had it angled right; guess she'll see. With Not-so-tall Man gone, she finally reaches poor Ranger and steps inside, keeping a wary eye out for angry birds. "What the.." Red Alert trails, finding some footage from the security cam. The last few seconds that the drone captured were as followed: Aerial mapping of the town, then refocus and unpanned when some fire ricochets off the drone's right side. A sleek black apache helicopter is caught, image blurry of course, right before the feed goes black. "Definitely MECH." he surmises, probing further. What made the drone act the way it did? Was it still recording? Only one way to find out! Combat: Red Alert compares his Technical to 90: Failure :( Amber MacKenzie says, "Do you need backup, Apocryphacius? We have people in the area." Apocryphacius says, "Uhm. Medical help. Fast." <> Slingshot breaks back through the clouds after losing track of his location. He has a decent reason: ""Ya'll I can't get this screeching to stop, for reals!" He swoops in low over the town and transforms into robot one, skidding to a rough stop on his knees. He presses his hands over his audio receptors, face twisted in pain. "What did that slaggin' bird do to me?!" Imma let you finish, but Slingshot transforms into the most HEROIC AERIALBOT of ALL TIME! Just before Amber gets inside Ranger, a face peers out at her from the eighth floor of a nearby building. It's the tall man. He really gets around! Meanwhile, Agent Blue Jay's head, er, well, let's just say the camera cuts away really quick and Apoc's Death face is, perhaps suitably, covered in a sudden spatter of gore. Red Alert says, "Full alert, this town is NOT what it appears to be. Slingshot, Apocryphacius.. sitreps. Elita is out of comm range, we can only assume the worst. Everyone regroup in the parking lot and board Ranger." Apocryphacius says, "..." Red Alert says, "Moving to condition Alpha." Apocryphacius says, "I..." Slingshot says, "DID SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING OVER THIS SPARK PIERCING SCREECH?!" Air Raid !?!?! Slingshot says, "AIR RAID HELP ME" Apocryphacius says, "I... have made a dreadful mistake." Air Raid says, "WHAT WHAT" Red Alert has locked Slingshot out of channel Autobot. Amber MacKenzie says, "Are you injured, Apocryphacius?" Red Alert says, "Locking Slingshot from channel communications until he can get ahold of himself." Air Raid says, "What's wrong with him?" Apocryphacius says, "...mostly only my pride, but the patient is... deceased." Red Alert says, "If I had to hazard a guess?" Blurr says, "Damn it." Air Raid says, "SLINGSHOT DIED!?!" Red Alert says, "He might be experiencing proximity pains, being separated from the other Aerialbots for too long." Repugnus says, "Man, I don't miss the guy already!" Air Raid says, "Wh'..." Red Alert says, "It's fully detailed in my analysis of potential negative effects, document entitled 'Red File: Gestalt Technology - Where Did We Go Wrong?'" Autobot Shuttle sends out a tracking beacon on Autobot wavelengths, in order to allow his allies to converge upon his location. The ones that can't fly, at least. <> Apocryphacius says, "No, Agent Blue Jays has passed away due to my error and ego." Air Raid chokes. Ranger says, "Uhh, must've been quite an error." "Nothing good, I can't seem to get at the other intel here.. I need equipment, maybe a Perceptor or two." Red Alert addresses Ranger, locking away the drone in a storage container and approaching the front of the craft. "Feel free to disable the artificial gravity for now, I'll be right back!" he denotes, taking off towards the boarding ramp. Harrying a glance at his datapad, the Security Director makes his way towards Slingshot. "Take it easy, you need to calm down." he speaks evenly, hand on his Ion Blaster Rifle. Combat: Red Alert takes extra time to aim his next attack. Air Raid says, "Okay, good... We can't afford Superion without a leg... or arm. Or whatever Slingshot is." Slingshot looks up at Red Alert, nodding his head and getting to his feet. He eyes the ion rifle uncomfortably. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THAT?" Death is shell-shocked and covered in gore. He /thought/ he could get the explosive out, he didn't think it would be easy, but he thought he could do it. He was so, so very wrong. There is no way to make this right. Apocryphacius just freezes there, stunned. Repugnus says, "That's not the only Agent that's passed away today!" Repugnus says, "...just kidding! (Lemme know when that gets annoying!)" Opening up a shortwave, Red Alert beams a message directly into that bald head of Slingshot’s. <> he rants, finger still idly playing over the trigger on the weapon. <> Never breaking optic contact, "Understood?" he says out loud. Combat: Red Alert sets his defense level to Fearless. Slingshot is already onboard Ranger because holy scrap. Something skitters across the buildings like a spider, occasionally stopping to look at Ranger. It could be the tall man. It could be you're going nuts. Apocryphacius says, "She exploded in my curent face. Because I was not good enough to get the bomb out in time. I could have just let her be." Re-Entering Ranger, who is quite possibly tired of people boarding on and off all the time, Red Alert moves towards the container and opens it up. "Slingshot, get over here and give me a hand." he orders, trying to calm down from Mr. Threatening just a few minutes ago. He attaches the datapad again, this time deadset on getting just another crack at this tech stuff. <> he shortwaves, still fiddling with this security override SOMEONE installed. It certainly wasn't an Autobot feature. Slingshot gives Red Alert a look, still trying to pretend like his head isn't splitting in half from crazy screeching sounds. Nevertheless, he moves over to the security bot, really close actually because they're rather cramped. "WHAT DID YOU WANT?" Combat: Red Alert compares his Technical to 90: Success! "You to dial it down a notch." Red Alert squints, the shouting almost ruining the procedure. Death numbly pulls out a body bag, gathers up Blue Jays's pieces inside the bag, tags it, and heads off. He feels... awful. His hubris just cost someone her life. He SHOULD have been better. There is no excuse for his failure. Cross... Xabat... had a bomb in his head, the autopsy showed. If things had gone differently... Apocryphacius would have been less than useful there, it seems. But he moves off for the rendevous point. Red Alert is scary. Death transforms into his Darkness mode. Video plays on the datapad as Red Alert finally cracks it. The drone appears to have captured a video of a Cybertronian standing in the desert, along with MECH troops and, judging from the grey hair, Silas himself. They're watching a test of some sort of energy projection device pointed at a small hovercar of alien design. The projector appears to project a beam onto the hovercar, which immediately goes berserk, its lifts sending it careening all over the place. The onlookers back away, as if afraid it might hit them, but the hovercar hits the side of a mesa instead and explodes. Cut ahead to an image of Silas and the Cybertronian boarding a shuttle, while the device is loaded in through a back ramp. Silas and the Cybertronian appear to be talking, then Silas pauses, turns, and points up at the drone video taping them. The drone retreats, but being unintelligent, simply resuming scanning the city, leading up to the events where it was fired upon. <> croaks a voice over a radio transmission. "Bottlethrottle.." Red Alert says aloud, mouth still agape. Then it hits him, they are literally in MECH territory. That weapon is here or in close proximity. And then to up the ante? The Security Director catches a radio transmission, coming from the tall building right next to the parking lot. The eighth floor to be exact, the Tall Man. It only contianed three words, though they are terrifying in context. "Silas, we have a problem." "Ranger, kick up thrusters now. We are leaving in five." he demands, stowing the drone in the container again and peering out the hold. Red Alert says, "Amber, we are leaving in five. I suggest you already have your seatbelt fastened in four." Autobot Shuttle starts up his engines, kicking up a cloud of billowing dust. <> Amber MacKenzie is already in the shuttle, so it doesn't take her long to take a seat. If Ranger has seating for humans, she'll use that, seatbelt included. If not, she'll just have to hang on for dear life and hope that Ranger has a smooth ride. Autobot Shuttle 's engines whine as they kick up into a higher gear and he rises smoothly from the ground, his ramp retracting and his hatch closing. Broadcasting internally he advises <> Even though the datapad had already been stored and the feed turned off, the image still burns in Red Alert's mind clear as crystal. Reports of the weapon was one thing, seeing it was another thing entirely. "Thank you Ranger. Team, full debrief upon disembarking at base." he orders, taking a seat next to the others. Though he doesn't strike up any friendly banter or post-mission discussion, he just sits alone in silent contemplation. As Tom Krooze, Tom Cruise's stunt double who looks JUST like Ben Stiller, would say: "This mission just got a whole lot.. Impossibler." Fini~